


The Six Huntresses of Grimm

by san_shui



Category: RWBY, Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Character Death, Conflict, Death, Enemies to Friends, F/F, F/M, Faunus Racism, Friendship, Human and Faunus issues, Hurt/Comfort, Immortality, Lovers To Enemies, Magic, No Incest, Other, Reincarnation, Romance, i swear i have a plan for this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:27:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24987535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/san_shui/pseuds/san_shui
Summary: The job of a huntsman/huntress is to defeat the Creatures of Grimm, but unfortunately, there’s a bigger threat than the Grimm.*ON HIATUS / DISCONTINUED-ish*
Relationships: Anne of Cleves & Katherine Howard, Everyone & Everyone
Comments: 8
Kudos: 35





	1. A Cautionary Tale

**Author's Note:**

> The four kingdoms of Remmant: Vale (Beacon Academy), Atlas (Atlas Academy), Mistral (Haven Academy), and Vacuo (Shade Academy)
> 
> Menagerie: a small continent in Remnant’s southern hemisphere for the Faunus
> 
> Aura: the energy of living souls; strengths durability
> 
> Semblance: a personalized Aura manifestation akin to a superpower
> 
> Faunus: a person with animal traits
> 
> The Creatures of Grimm: monsters that feed on negativity and seek to destroy
> 
> Dust: energy propellant that can be used in weapons and technology; can be used to manipulate its specific aspect  
> \- Types: fire, ice, wind, electricity, water, plant, rock, gravity  
> \- All of their weapons can use Dust
> 
> Scroll: an object that functions as a collapsible, holographic tablet  
> \- Can function as a phone, a portable computer, a camera, a streaming device, and a gaming controller

_“Legends. Stories gathered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts, of a forgotten past. Man, born from dust, was strong, wise, and resourceful. But he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness, creatures of destruction. The creatures of Grimm set their sights on man and all of his creations. These forces clashed and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning man’s brief existence to the void._

_However even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change and in time, man’s passion, resourcefulness, and ingenuity led them to the tool that would help even the odds. This power was appropriately named, “Dust.” Nature’s wrath in hand, man lit their way through the darkness, and in the shadow’s absence, came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life._

_But even the most brilliant lights eventually flicker and die. And when they are gone . . . Darkness will return. So you may prepare your guardians, build your monuments to a so-called free world, but take heed, there will be no victory in strength . . .”_

_“But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you’ve long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul.”_


	2. Katherine Howard

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the constant changes! I thought I could start in the middle of the plot, but that kinda loses one of the greatest things of RWBY and misses some key components
> 
> Also, for those who remember the Context... yeah, I scratched that, and now making a new one, but I won’t share it bc they’ll be described in this (hopefully)
> 
> So let’s just start at the very beginning!

It’s a quiet night down in the kingdom of Vale. But of course, trouble wasn’t too far off.

Among the streets were six men. Five of them were dressed in black suits and hats with red ties and shades (despite it being dark). The man leading them was dressed the opposite. He wore a red-lined white suit with long black pants and black shoes, including a small gray scarf, black gloves with buckled sleeves, and a black bowler hat with a small feather tucked into its red band. His hair was bright red and covered the right side of his face. He also carried a cigar (which was in his mouth) and a cane in his hand that seemed more for show than purpose.

They soon entered a store called “From Dust Till Dawn.” The boss approached the shopkeeper (an old, gray man), took out his cigar, and analyzed the glass table that separated the two men. Satisfied with his findings, the leader looked up at the shopkeeper.

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Dust shop open this late?” he asked, crossing his arms.

As if their purpose wasn’t obvious enough, a henchman pointed his gun at the old man. Freighted, the old man raised his hands in the air.

“Please. Just take my lien and leave,” he begged.

“Shhh, calm down. We’re not here for your money,” the leader said softly, then turned to his men. “Grab the Dust.”

The men pulled out a case that contained bottles to fill the Dust from the tubes that hung on the walls.

“Crystals. Burn. Uncut,” a man ordered the shopkeeper, opening another case. The shopkeeper obeyed and reached under the glass table, carefully taking out the Dust crystals.

Another henchman went up to a Dust tube, about to fill it, when he noticed a person hidden under a pink hood standing in the back corner by the comics section. He put down the container then unsheathed his sword (its blade a deep red).

“Alright kid, put your hands where I can see them,” he instructed. No response.

“Hey! I said hands in the air!” he growled. He then walked up to them and spun them around, saying, “You have a death wish or something?”

The person’s hood fell off, revealing a girl with earbuds. But she wasn’t just a girl, she was a Faunus. A cat Faunus to be exact due to the brown ears on the top of her head. The girl was brown haired that had pink highlights towards the end. Her silver eyes stared up at the man.

“Huh?”

The man pointed at his head to indicate the headphones. She took them off, resting them on her neck with the music still playing.

“Yes?” she asked.

“I said, put your hands in the air! Now!”

“Are you . . . robbing me?”

“Yes!” he replied, outraged at her stupidity.

“Oh . . .”

But before he could, the girl kicked him, and he crashed into the wall, passing his leader. The boss glanced back then nodded to another one of his men. Understanding, the man headed towards the threat. Instead of a sword, this man held up a gun.

“Freeze!” he yelled.

This time, the girl charged, and knocked into him, sending them both out the window. Hearing the commotion, the rest of the men peered out the broken glass.

Standing over the unconscious goon was the girl dressed in a black and pink outfit –a long sleeve v-cut crop pink hoodie with three X laces on the front and two black stripes diagonally from the shoulders to the bottom, a black choker with a pink ‘K’ around her neck, a skirt with black shorts underneath, a belt with ammo attached, and tall combat boots– as her weapon, Thornless Rose (a high-caliber sniper double-bladed axe –and like her outfit, consisted of pink and black colors–), was activated over her shoulder.

The boss glared at her when she looked back with a glint in her eyes. She then spun around with her weapon and aimed it at them, ready for a fight.

The boss tilted his head. “Okay . . .” he said, then glanced between his men. “Get her,” he ordered with a nod.

The henchmen rushed out the door with their weapons. The first guy went in for a punch, but the girl dodged it by stabbing her axe into the ground, vaulting over it, swung around, then kicked the guy in the face.

The girl landed with the blades behind her. She pulled back, and pressed the trigger on the handle. Using that shot to boost her momentum, she did a 360 and hit another guy with her weapon, sending him into the air. Another one was unfortunately smashed (and possibly killed) when she swung her axe upon him.

The last guy began to fire from his gun. Quick on her feet, the girl used the recoil of her shot to put distance between them. She dodged in a zig-zag until she was close enough and hit up in the air, then slammed him at the ground, right at the crime boss’s feet.

Looking down at his dead men, he said, “You were worth every cent. Truly, you were.”

He then stepped forward and addressed the girl. “Well, Pinky I think we can all say it’s been an eventful evening. And as much as I’d love to stick around” –he pointed his cane at her– “I’m afraid this is where we part ways,” he said, and the bottom of the cane flicked open to show a targeting sight.

Without hesitation, he fired a blazing shot at the girl, who quickly avoided it by shooting downward to boost herself up. When the cane’s shot hit the place where she stood, it exploded, breaking parts of the street.

When the girl landed and glanced up, the man was gone. She ran up to the store and looked around until she found him climbing up a ladder of the building across. Sensing other motion, she glimpsed back at the doorway to see the shopkeeper.

“You okay if I go after him?” she asked. He nodded with a grunt.

She speed off and to save time, used her weapon to throw herself onto the roof.

“Hey!” she called out.

The man stopped at the other edge. “Persistent,” he muttered.

The girl narrowed her eyes and steadied her weapon. But instead of turning around to fight her (as she expected), he kept his back to her as something else appeared.

It was a Bullhead aircraft. The body was an oval shape with sliding doors. On the sides were two wings and large thrusters at the end that could make the aircraft hover or increase its speed. Near the top was a glass window for the drivers. It’s main purpose was for military and commercial contractors.

As it hovered in front of the man, the aircraft shone a bright light in the girl’s face. While it did, the crime boss climbed inside and faced her.

“End of the line, Pinky!” he shouted over the aircraft’s loud noise, then threw a fire Dust crystal at her.

Distracted, she watched it land at her feet, but failed to notice the man firing from his cane at it, which caused an explosion when the bullet made contact with the crystal.

He laughed at the victory, but stopped when that wasn’t the case. He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward to see past the smoke.

When it cleared, there stood in front of the girl was a woman with purple rings floating before her.

She had blonde hair tied in a bun. She seemed to be a mix of a teacher, a lawyer, and a wizard. Her top was white with a keyhole at her chest and cuffs on the arm sleeves; her pants were black as her heel boots; and to top off the wizard appearance (besides the magic looking rings) was a purple cape with a fire cut at the end and the wand-like weapon of hers.

The girl gaped at the woman who saved her life. This was a real huntress!

The woman’s green eyes narrowed as she pushed up her glasses with a “hmfp” sound. Swiftly, she slashed her weapon and shot out purple rays at the aircraft. Every one of them was a perfect hit.

Due to the rockiness of the ship, the man struggled to maintain his balance, almost falling off, but didn’t. He grunted then approached the deck where the pilot was.

“We got a huntress!” he warned.

Understanding, the pilot quickly got out the seat and went to the door while the man took over the controls.

On the roof, the huntress shot another “spell” above the aircraft. Thunder rumbled as dark clouds appeared. With her “wand” pointed at the aircraft, the huntress motioned it down, and ice crystals hailed at the Bullhead. One crystal almost hit the man in the face, but he managed to lean away in time.

The clicking of glass heels was soon heard as the pilot emerged at the doorway. Hidden within the shadow, the pilot’s hands lit with flames, revealing a short long sleeve red dress and black heels.

She (the pilot) fired at the huntress’s feet, but didn’t hit since she backhanded away. The huntress then turned the debris into a long missile and aimed at the aircraft. But the mystery woman countered the attack with fire, and kept doing it until the huntress changed targets and fired at the pilot’s seat.

Seeing this, the man hastily titled the Bullhead to where the debris missile only damaged the top. The missile separated into mini ones and circled the aircraft.

After glancing around, the mystery woman bursted out a ball of fire, destroying the missiles, but left the Bullhead unharmed. As ashes fell, the criminals took their cue to leave while the huntress and the girl watched on the roof.

Confused and a little outraged, the girl glanced at the huntress then back at the Bullhead, aimed her weapon which transformed into gun mode –the blades folded in and the weapon shortened to make it easier to hold– and started firing at it. Yet, just like the debris missile, the mystery woman easily blocked the shots by holding out her hand and contacting the bullets with her fire. She then cast glowing circles around their (the girl and the huntress) feet. The huntress swiftly swung her “wand” which pushed the girl forward as she herself cartwheeled.

Knowing the girl was safe, the huntress looked up to see the Bullhead door close and the thrusters shifted horizontal and blasted off. She averted her eyes at the failure.

After getting up, the girl addressed her. “You’re a huntress,” she said. The huntress only stared.

“Can I have your autograph?” she asked excitedly.

  
  


Unfortunately the response was being put in an interrogation room. The girl sat in a chair, eyes downcast as the huntress paced with a tablet scroll.

“I hope you realize that your action tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady. You put yourself and others in great danger,” the huntress scolded. Yep, definitely a teacher.

“They started it!” the girl remarked.

“If it were up to me, you’d be sent home. Now a pat on the back . . .” –the girl grinned, and the huntress stared at her for a second– “and a slap on the wrist,” she said and slammed her “wand” at the table, and the girl jumped in surprise, pulling back her hands.

“But . . . there is someone here who would like to meet you.” The huntress said and walked to the side.

At the doorway was a tanned woman with shaded glasses, had dark curly hair sided to the left, and was dressed in a black suit with a blue turtleneck underneath. In her hands were a plate of cookies and a coffee mug.

“Katherine Howard,” she said, then peered at her. “You . . . have silver eyes.”

The girl, Katherine, furrowed her eyes at that strange comment. “U-umm.” How are you supposed to respond to that?

“So, where did you learn to do this,” the woman asked, nodding at the tablet with the video recording of her fighting the criminals.

“Signal Academy,” Katherine answered like a question.

“They taught you to use one of the dangerous weapons ever designed?” she asked, almost impressed.

“Well, no. I taught myself. Of course, I had some help, but no one else I knew uses my kind of weapon,” the girl clarified.

“I see,” she said, then set the cookies in front of Katherine.

Katherine gave her an apprehensive look then ate one cookie. It was actually pretty good! She then continued to eat the rest.

“And what is an adorable girl, such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?” The woman sat down across from her, leaned forward, and put her fingers together.

“Well . . . I want to be a huntress.”

“You want to slay monsters?”

“Yeah. I only have two more years of training left at Signal and then I’m to apply to Beacon. You see, my best friend’s starting there this year, and she’s trying to become a huntress, and I’m trying to become a huntress because I want to help people. I mean, the police are alright, but huntsmen and huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting, you know?” Katherine answered, beaming.

The adults were silent. The blonde woman had a judgmental expression and only blinked while the brunette considered her words.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked.

“You’re Professor Catherine. You’re the headmaster at Beacon.”

“Hello,” Catherine formally greeted her.

“Nice to meet you,” Katherine said.

“You want to come to my school?”

“More than anything,” she whispered.

Catherine glanced at her other teacher, who grudgingly looked away, clearly disagreeing with whatever Catherine was about to say.

“Well okay,” she said with a slight grin, and Katherine’s face lit up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you say anything, yes “Thornless Rose” sounds like Crescent Rose, but I chose “thornless rose” because apparently, Henry called Katherine “a rose without a thorn”
> 
> Also . . . RWBY vol. 7 soundtrack is a bop!


	3. Beacon Academy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone is 17, except Kat who is 15.
> 
> I’m sorry about the LIW in here cause I don’t know much about them. Besides them, I tried to keep everyone else in character. So I’m sorry if someone seemed a little OOC, I’m trying to avoid that.
> 
> Also, please read the tags to know what’s in the story. Thx

“Oh, I can’t believe my best friend is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!” Anna said, squeezing Katherine into a hug.

The two, among other attendees, were aboard an Atlesian Airship (a large cruiser with four long wings and three different size decks: the top for the pilots and the second and third for passengers) on their way to Beacon Academy in the Kingdom of Vale.

Unlike Kat, Anna von Cleves was a human. Even though Faunus and human had back history, the Kingdom of Vale was the only kingdom to not repeat and instead, have human and Faunus treated equally. Whether Anna was a human or not, Katherine loved her all the same by personality alone. Anna’s a very protective person over her loved ones and would do anything to keep them safe and happy. She’s also amazingly strong and quick to act in a situation.

Anna was a few inches taller than Katherine (who was about 5’4ft), tanned skinned, had short black hair and chocolate eyes. She wore a black crop top, a black jacket with ruffled short sleeves that had red lining on the inside and along the outside of the zipper up to the collar, dark shorts with a black belt that held a mini bag and had three chains reaching from front to back around her waist, knee-high boots and red over-the-knee socks (with the right sock pushed down just below the knee), a gray bandanna tied around her left knee, and black fingerless gloves. On her wrists were silver metallic bracelets, which could transform into her weapons.

“Please stop,” Katherine wheezed, which Anna complied.

“But I’m so proud of you!” Anna beamed.

It’s not every day for a 15 year old to be accepted to one of the top combat academies when students were technologically allowed to start attending at age 17.

“Really, Anna, it was nothing,” Katherine tried to brush off.

“What do you mean? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you’re the bee’s knees!”

“I don’t want to be the ‘bee’s knees,’ okay? I don’t wanna be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees,” Katherine said, glancing down.

“What’s with you? Aren’t you excited?” Anna asked, concerned yet smiling.

“Of course I’m excited, I just . . . I got moved ahead two years. I don’t want people to think I’m special or anything,” Katherine said, her ears bending in.

Anna walked to her side and wrapped an arm around her. “But you are special,” she said.

Fortunately for Katherine, their conversation was cut off by the news reporter on a big screen.

“The robber was led by nefarious criminal, Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities–“ Displayed on the screen were two mug shots of the same guy Katherine faced. Same red bangs, same green eye (the one that wasn’t covered by his hair), and same uniform. The only thing missing was his hat. Clearly, this man’s been caught before, but managed to escape “–If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Lisa,” the reporter said.

“Thank you, Cyril,” said Lisa Lavender, who then showed up on the screen. She had purple hair and yellow eyes and wore a collared purple shirt topped with a black blazer.

“In other news,” she continued and a picture of two Faunus holding signs appeared, “this Saturday’s Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony” –the picture turned into a red silhouette of a fanged wolf with three claw marks behind it, the White Fang’s symbol– “the once peaceful organization has now disrupted–“ the screen cut her off and another person appeared in a holographic style.

It was the huntress who saved, and scolded, Katherine that same night she fought Roman.

“Hello and welcome to Beacon,” she greeted the students.

“Who’s that?” Anna asked, leaning towards Katherine, who glanced back at her. Just because Katherine fought with her didn’t mean she knew who she was.

“My name is Glynda Goodwitch,” the woman introduced, continuing her speech (this was most likely a recording).

“Oh.”

“You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend their prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future huntsmen and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now, it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world,” she finished, then disappeared.

What was behind the hologram was a round window (there were rows of them among the deck as well), and the view beyond it was astonishing.

“Wow!” Katherine said and pressed her palms against the glass. “Look, you can see Signal from up here! I guess home isn’t too far after all.” Who knew how small the world seemed from high above.

Anna put an arm around her shoulder. “Beacon’s our home now,” she assured.

Katherine looked at her, but her ears twitched when another noise was made on the ship, and she craned her head to see what it was.

Off to the side, a blonde girl groaned and put a hand over her mouth and quickly stepped away from the windows. The two watched her with pitiful expressions then turned back to the window.

“Well . . . I guess the view isn’t for everyone,” Anna commented.

“It was a nice moment while it lasted,” Katherine said.

“I wonder who we’re gonna meet,” Anna said as the ship approached the academy.

“I just hope they’re nice,” Katherine said.

* * *

They finally arrived, but instead of landing on the landing pad, the dropship hovered beside it. The doors opened and all the newcomers exited.

“Wow,” Anna and Katherine said, astonished at Beacon Academy.

The building was structured like a castle and had a tower (that glowed green near the top) in the middle of it. There were two sets of arched walls circurling the building. In front of the inner walls was a pond along the sides of the walkway. The school’s location was like a town square, it had access to almost any part of Vale. It was by the cliff’s edge (with docking bays), but close enough to make a trip into the city; and it also owned a shady, wood area called the Emerald Forest that contained Grimm and acted as the initiation area.

“The view from Vale’s got nothing on this!” Anna said, impressed, crossing her arms.

“Ooh!” Katherine’s attention switched to the people walking by. More specifically, their weapons.

“Anna, that kid has a collapsible staff! And she’s got a fire sword!” Katherine said, and began walking away, only to be pulled back (gently) by Anna.

“Easy there, Kitty,” Anna said, using her nickname, “they’re just weapons.”

“Just weapons? They're an extension of ourselves! They’re a part of us!” Katherine expressed with her hands outstretched, then brought them to her chest in a fist. “They’re so cool!”

“Well why can’t you swoon over your own weapon? Aren’t you happy with it?”

Activating her weapon, Katherine held it close. “Of course I’m happy with Thornless Rose! I just really like seeing new ones. It’s like meeting new people. But better . . .”

“Kitty, come on” –Anna pulled Katherine’s hoodie over her head– “why don’t you go try and make some friends of your own?” she asked.

“But why would I need friends when I have you?” Katherine said sincerely, taking off her hood.

“Well–“

“Anna!” a voice called out.

Anna looked to her right and saw a group of her classmates approaching her.

“Oh, hey guys!” Anna greeted them.

“What are you doing? Come join us! We’re gonna check this place out for a bit!” one of them said, and pulled her by the arm before she could decline.

“Katherine!” Anna said, frantically glancing back at Katherine.

“Anna!” Katherine tried to follow, but she failed to see someone else walk in her path.

When they collided, the person’s case dropped and hit the ground hard, causing a few glass containers of Dust to fly out. When they touched the concrete, the Dust exploded. Katherine coughed and waved a hand in front of her face. When the smoke cleared, she saw a fallen person across from her, and she panicked.

“Ah, I’m so sorry! Are you okay?” she asked, getting up and offering her hand.

The girl groaned then opened her eyes to see Katherine's hand. She stared at the hand for a second then took it.

“Yes, I’m fine. Thank you,” she said calmly.

The girl was as tall as Anna. She had short, curly, dark auburn hair, amber eyes, and was brown skinned. She dressed similar to the Atlas military. The outfit consisted of a white long-sleeved coat with gold shoulder pads, thin gold gauntlets, and golden colors on the inside and towards the end of the front that stopped at the waist. The coat was folded open and was tailed at the back from the waist to slightly below the knee. Underneath the coat was a white collared shirt with a gold necklace chain around her neck. Below the coat was a girdle, a pair of white trousers with black garters, and golden thigh boots with black detailing around the knees. She also had black gloves and a Dust pouch around her waist. As for her weapon, it appeared to be a pinfire revolver-sword (with a golden handle –of course–) hooked on her left side. Whoever she was, by her looks alone, she meant business. Which was kinda impressive, and scary, for a seventeen year old.

As the girl dusted herself off, Katherine reached down to grab the suitcase she accidentally knocked out of the stranger’s hands.

“Here. Again, really sorry about that,” Katherine said, handing it over.

“It’s fine really. Just watch where you’re going next time,” she said, then noticed the ears on her head, and her eyes slightly widened. “You’re a Faunus,” she stated.

“Um, yes?” Katherine couldn’t help but shrink into herself a little. “Is that a problem?”

“Hm? Oh, no! I didn’t mean–“ she was interrupted when another voice chirped in.

“Gonna reprimand that poor girl, Aragon?”

The two turned to see another girl walking towards them. She wore a black, plaid, buttoned vest with coattails and sharp sleeves that cut before the shoulder, along with a single silver button on the front. Underneath was a dark green, sleeveless, high necked, crop shirt, same colored shorts with a zipper on the front of each leg, leggings with a color gradation of black to green at her ankles, and black low-heeled boots. Around her waist was a black belt with a dagger n sheath attached to her left hip. On her left arm was (again) a black fading to green detached sleeve with a silver cuff around her bicep, and black ribbons were wrapped around both forearms. Around her neck was a thick green choker. She was light skinned, had black hair up in two buns, and had emerald eyes. But what the two mostly noticed was her black tail swinging behind her.

Seeing that, something stuck in Katherine, but she couldn’t pinpoint what.

As she came, the Faunus’s eyes were glued to the girl (Aragon from what she said), but it came off as a glare (which seemed on purpose).

_Do these two know each other?_ Katherine wondered, eyes darting between them. If a fight broke out, Katherine wasn’t sure what she would do.

“No, of course not,” Aragon replied sharply.

“Pfft, yeah right. Hard to believe that from an Aragon,” the Faunus said.

For a second, Katherine thought she saw hurt across the girl’s face, but it was quickly replaced with an eye roll and uninterested expression.

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s wrong. There was no harm done, and she apologized,” she remarked.

The Faunus furrowed her brows. “Sure.” She then turned to Katherine, who was silently leaving the conversation, but stopped when piercing green eyes landed on her.

“Did she hurt you?” the Faunus asked.

“No,” Katherine said, confused, and glimpsed at Aragon, who watched silently.

“Where are you from?” she asked.

“Vale,” Katherine answered.

“Ah, that makes sense. That’s a nice little town,” the Faunus said. “Well then, let me formally introduce you” –she pointed at the girl– “this right here is Catalina de Aragon, heiress to the Aragon Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world,” she explained.

“Oh,” was Katherine’s only response. She guessed that was impressive, but what did that have to do with the conversation?

“Which by the way is the same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners,” the Faunus finished, her tone gone sharp when she looked at Aragon.

Oh.

“You got some nerve don’t you?” Aragon asked.

“I’d like to see yours,” the Faunus scoffed, stepping closer.

“Okay! I think that’s enough!” Katherine said, and cut in between them.

The two still eyed each other, but Aragon was the first to break.

“She’s right. This wouldn’t get anywhere,” she exhaled.

“Wow, you actually agreed to a Faunus,” the girl said, feigning amusement.

Aragon narrowed her eyes once more, but softened her expression when she briefly looked at Katherine before pivoting on her feet and walked away.

“I’ll make it up to you if that’s still needed!” Katherine called after her then sighed. “I guess I’m not the only one having a rough first day,” she mumbled. “So what’s–“ she turned around to address the Faunus, but she too had already walked away.

Giving up, she dropped to her knees. This was not at all how she pictured her first day.

“Welcome to Beacon,” she whispered to herself.

A shadow appeared above her, and she lifted her head to see a hand. She quickly took in the girl’s appearance.

She had dirty blonde hair, ocean eyes, and was maybe an inch taller than her. She wore a black short-sleeved hoodie, detached reddish-orange sleeves, a white diamond-shaped chest plate cut off above her lower abdomen, a pair of white spaulders on the shoulders with rerebraces set under them, brown wrist-length gloves with exposed fingertips and small metal plates over the back, blue jeans, and black sneakers. She had two belts crisscrossing her waist with a pair of small pouches on them, and attached to it was a sword and a white sheath.

“I’m Joan,” the blonde said.

“Katherine,” she said, taking the hand.

Katherine lightly chuckled. “Aren’t you the girl that threw up on the ship?”

Joan sighed. “Yeah . . . but I will have you know that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on.”

Katherine raised her hands (palms outward). “Okay, okay. I’m sorry, that was the only reason why I recognized you.”

“Well the name’s Joan Meutas,” she said.

“Noted,” Katherine said with a smile. Not knowing where to go, they began to walk on the sidewalk around the building. After a minute of quiet, Katherine talked again.

“So . . . I got this thing.” Katherine whipped out her weapon, startling the girl.

“Whoa! Is that a double bladed axe?” Joan asked, backing up but astonished at the same time.

“It’s a customizable, high impact velocity sniper axe,” Katherine quickly explained.

“A what?”

Katherine clicked the slide. “It’s also a gun.”

“Oh, that’s cool!”

Katherine grinned. “So what’ve you got?” she asked.

“Oh, uh. I got this sword,” Joan said, pulling out her weapon from her waist.

It was a broadsword with a blue handle and bronze metal at the pommel and hilt.

“Ooh,” Katherine commented.

“Yeah, I've got a shield too.” Joan unhooked her sheath and it unfolded into a long vector shield.

“So what do they do?” Katherine asked, intrigued.

“Well . . . the shield gets smaller. So when I get tired of carrying it, I can just . . . put it away,” Joan explained, collapsing her shield back to her waist.

“But . . . wouldn’t it weigh the same?”

“Yeah, it does,” Joan sighed.

“Well, I’m kind of a dork when it comes to weapons,” Katherine said, petting Thornless Rose, “I guess I did go a little overboard designing it,” she mumbled.

“Wait, _you_ made that?”

“Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons. Didn’t you make yours?”

Joan glanced at her sword. “It’s a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war,” Joan said, embarrassed.

“Sounds more like a family heirloom to me! Well I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days,” Katherine said sincerely, cheering up the girl a bit.

“Yeah. The classics,” Joan echoed with a smile, then sheathed her sword.

“So why’d you help me out back there in the courtyard?” Katherine asked, continuing their walk.

“Eh, why not? My mom always says, ‘Strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet,’” Joan said.

“Hm. Hey where are we going?” Katherine asked, looking around.

“Oh, I dunno. I was just following you,” Joan said, halting. “You think there might be a directory? Maybe a food court? Some sort of recognizable landmark?”

Katherine held in a laugh.

“Is uh, is that a no?”

“Ha, that’s a no,” Katherine replied. “Let’s head back the way we came. I think we should’ve gone straight instead of well, I don’t know, around.”

“Yeah that would’ve been smarter,” Joan said.

* * *

The two found where they were supposed to be and entered the building. It was large and round with pews lined up on the second floor. Across the entrance and above and behind the stage was a column that led to four small, circular stained glass blue windows. If Katherine had to guess, this was probably the school’s “chapel” or meeting room. As they passed the doors, several people were standing inside since there were no seats.

“Kitty! Over here!” Katherine turned her head to her best friend’s voice.

“I saved you a spot!” Anna said, waving with a smile.

“Oh! Hey, I gotta go! I’ll see you after the ceremony!” Katherine said, then rushed over.

“Hey, wait!” Joan said, but then lost sight of her among the crowd. “Great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky person to talk to?” she asked herself, then walked away, unaware that someone else overheard by the doorway.

“How’d your first day going, Kitty?” Anna asked.

“You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?” Katherine retorted, crossing her arms.

“Yikes, meltdown already?”

“No, I literally exploded a hole in front of the school, and there was a fire and I think some ice . . .?”

“Are you being sarcastic?” Anna teased.

“Ugh! I wish,” Katherine scoffed. “I ran into someone who accidentally dropped her luggage which caused an explosion when it hit the ground or something, and I felt really bad, but she seemed okay and wasn’t that mad. Or at least I hope. Then another girl came, oh! And she was a Faunus. Probably a cat one because of her tail and her eyes, but anyways, she had an argument with that person who I ran into, which I had to break up causing them to part ways. And even though the first girl seemed fine, I still feel really bad and wanna make it up to her.”

“You’re lucky we weren’t blown off the side of the cliff,” Aragon said, appearing right behind her.

Startled, Katherine jumped into Anna’s arms, who managed to catch her and keep herself up.

“Oh my gods, you really exploded,” Anna deadpanned, raising her eyebrows.

“It was an accident!” Katherine pleaded, and removed herself from Anna and faced Aragon.

“I know. And I said it was fine. You don’t have to make it up to me,” Aragon stated.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. But if you really feel like it, just take this.” Aragon thrusted a pamphlet that read “Dust for dummies and other Inadequate Individuals” into her hands.

“Uh . . .” Katherine awkwardly held it and looked back at Anna for help.

“So obviously you two could’ve met in better circumstances. Why don’t you just start over and try to be friends, okay?” Anna suggested.

“Yeah! Great idea!” Katherine turned to Aragon and held out her hand (again). “Hello, Catalina! I’m Katherine!”

Catalina blinked at the hand but shook it anyway. She seemed guarded, which Katherine guessed it made sense since everyone was new here, but the mysterious Faunus’s words replayed in her head. Did Catalina have something against the Faunus? Katherine didn’t want to believe that. After all, she didn’t treat Katherine like trash or that Faunus even though she could’ve.

Katherine was broken from her thoughts when a voice spoke into the microphone on the stage.

“Ahem. I’ll keep this brief,” Professor Catherine said, pushing up her glasses. “You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step.”

That was . . . not the kind of welcoming speech Katherine thought it would’ve been.

As Professor Catherine walked off, Professor Goodwitch took her place.

“You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed,” she said, and students began to walk away.

Still standing there, Anna spoke. “She seemed kind of off.” Referring to Professor Catherine.

“It’s almost like she wasn’t even there,” Katherine said.

That woman definitely knew something that everyone else didn’t, but what?

* * *

Night had fallen, and everyone was in their sleeping bags (or at least getting ready to be) on the ballroom floor. The room was softly lit by the moon’s light through the windows and the candles on the wall.

With little light she had, Katherine used it to see the paper that she was writing on. It was peacefully quiet until Anna came in.

“It’s like a big slumber party!” she said, crashing down onto the sleeping beside her.

“Yeah, but I don’t approve of all the boys though,” Katherine said without looking up.

“I know I do,” Anna asked, seeing some masculine guys (most of whom were shirtless).

Katherine rolled her eyes at Anna’s playful tone. Anna was one of those club kind of gal, but she was one where everyone knew just by first glance to not mess with her. Though, that didn’t stop her from crashing the place by messing with the guys. And by “messing,” she would feign interest only to start a fight. Whether she was interested or not, Katherine supported her friend through and through.

“So . . . what’s that?” Anna asked, looking at the paper.

“A letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going,” Katherine said.

“Aww, that’s so cute!” Anna teased.

“Shut up!” Katherine threw her pillow at her face. “I didn’t get to take my friends with me to school. It’s weird not knowing anyone here,” Katherine said defensively.

“What about Joan? She’s nice! There you go! Plus one friend! That’s a one hundred percent increase” Anna chirped.

Katherine sighed and lied on her back. “Yeah, but then there’s Aragon, who I think is a friend, but she doesn’t seem like a people person.”

“Look, it’s only been one day. Trust me, you’ve got friends all around you. You just haven’t met them yet,” Anna said softly.

Katherine frowned, but her ears perked up when the sound of a match was lit. She sat up and saw a girl in a green nightgown reading a book against the wall.

“That girl,” Katherine whispered. Anna moved her eyes from her to Katherine.

“You know her?”

“Not really. She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything.”

“Well, now’s your chance!”

“Hey, wait! What are you doing?”

Anna got up, grabbed her arm, and pulled her towards the Faunus. Katherine was trying to yank her arm free, but it was no use.

“Hello!~” Anna said, waving. “I believe you two may know each other?” She released Katherine, who had her back turned and her arms crossed.

“Aren’t you that girl that exploded?”

“Uh, yeah,” Katherine said, facing her. “My name’s Katherine.” She held out her hand, which the Faunus eyed, but then smiled and took it.

“Anne Boleyn,” she said.

That name sounded oddly familiar to Katherine.

“Wait, ‘Boleyn?’”

“Yes?” Anne gave a questioning look.

Why didn’t Katherine recognize her sooner?! (Well probably because it’s been years but that’s beside the point.)

“I think we’re cousins,” Katherine said.

Anne blinked and observed the Faunus before her closely. Her eyes widened and she set the book to the side.

“Katherine Howard?”

Katherine nodded, and in a flash, Anne got up and squeezed her into a hug.

“OMG! How– What?–“ Anne stammered, not knowing which to ask first.

Katherine would’ve laughed if her oxygen wasn’t cut off.

“Can’t . . . breathe . . .” she gasped.

“Oh! Sorry!” Anne let go, but kept her hands on her arms. “Damn, has it really been years and I couldn’t recognize my own cousin? Wow, that’s sad on my part,” she said, but her excitement couldn’t contain her smile. Looking her over again, she paused. “Hold up, how old are you?” she asked, both concerned and intrigued.

“Fifteen,” Katherine replied.

Anne did a double take. “Fifteen? Wow. Wait, how are you here?”

“I, uh, got accepted early,” Katherine answered shyly, still overwhelmed about that.

“Damn. Well good for you, Kat!” Anne complimented, using her nickname.

Katherine found it sweet (and special) that Anne was the only one who called her “Kat,” and Anna was the only one who called her “Kitty.” Though some guys have called her the latter when they flirted or teased, which Katherine hated. But in time, she grew into it when Anna called her that, but instead of making it rude, she used kindly, which Katherine deeply appreciated.

“Thanks,” Katherine said with a grin.

“And . . . who might you be?” Anne asked Anna.

“Anna von Cleves,” Anna said with a nod.

“Nice to meet ya!” Anne said, nodding back.

She faced Katherine again. “Listen, I’m sorry that you had to see that outburst earlier today. I just saw what happened and then an Aragon was in the picture, and I had to step in. Though you two seemed on good terms, so . . .” Anne trailed off.

“It’s fine. I just hate that I didn’t know who you were back there. Also, why do you hate Aragon so much?” Katherine asked.

“Ah . . . let’s just say they’re not the nicest people,” Anne simplified.

Katherine and Anna shared a look, but Anna shrugged. Katherine decided to let the matter go. For today.

“So, what were you reading?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Oh, um, it’s about a person with two souls, each fighting for control over the body,” Anne explained.

“Oh, yeah. That’s real lovely,” Anna said sarcastically.

“I love books. Stories of heroes and monsters. They’re one of the reasons I want to be a huntress,” Katherine said.

“Why is that?” Anne asked, intrigued.

“As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books. Someone who fought for what was right, and who protected people who couldn’t protect themselves.”

“Hm, well said cuz. Unfortunately, the real world isn’t the same as a fairy tale,” Anne said, frowning.

“Well, that’s why we’re here. To make it better,” Katherine said softly.

Anne smiled and pulled her back into another embrace. “You’ve for sure grown since I last saw you, Kat. We really need to catch up,” she said.

“Yeah, that’ll be great!” Katherine gladly agreed.

Their time was cut short when a voice announced over the speakers. “One minute before lights out!”

“We should probably get to sleep. Oh, I hope we’d be on the same team! That’ll be amazing!” Anne exclaimed.

“Yes!”

“Well, in the meantime, take care of her, yeah?” Anne said, looking at Anna.

“You have my word,” Anna swore, and wrapped an arm around Katherine, grinning, but her voice was sincere as if ready to protect her at any second.

“Good to know she has you. Goodnight you two!” Anne said and turned back to her things.

“Goodnight Annie!” Katherine said.

The two walked back and tucked themselves into their sleeping bags.

“So I guess that’s two friends and a half,” Anna commented.

“Yeah, I guess,” Katherine said, the corner of her mouth quirked up.

Today was certainly not the best start, but she still had the rest of the year for it to be a good one. At least, she hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven’t noticed, their outfits are inspired by both Six the musical and the RWBY characters they are “portraying”


	4. The First Step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So i didn’t forget about this story, but I thought it best to step back from it for a bit since I kept changing it (sorry for that)
> 
> But it’s back now!
> 
> I meant to post this on Saturday as a celebration for RWBY volume 8 premiere, but I was busy that day
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy!

The moment the sun rose, everyone startled bustling to start the day. Today was the initiation, which many students were anxious about. Once they got dressed, ate breakfast, and packed their sleeping bags, the students were to fetch their weapons in the locker room.

When Katherine approached her locker, a row down were two girls talking. One of them had light blue eyes and brown hair tied into a ponytail; and the other had magenta eyes that matched the streak in her long, black hair that included straight bangs across her forehead.

The brunette was dressed in a collared black sleeveless vest, with a blue central front section with red accents. Under the vest was a white sleeveless t-shirt with a heart-shaped cutout above her breast line in the centre accompanied with a pair of white detached sleeves on each arm. She sported a short pink skirt with a single white layer under it. Her white ankle boots sport pink soles with pink laces, the tops are folded over revealing the pink lining. She also wore a silver armor piece that wrapped around the waist, under her breasts and around the back on her neck with metal connecting each piece together at the front. She looked as if she was a mechanic-warrior-princess.

The raven-haired, on the other hand, looked similar to a ninja. Her outfit was a dark green, diagonally-buttoned, long-sleeved tailcoat that was red on the inside, with black and gold trimming and pink cuffs. The trimming went down the right side of her torso and formed a black collar. Along with this was a black, long-sleeved shirt beneath the suit and light-tan pants with black shoes.

Now that Katherine was closer, it appeared that the brunette was the only one talking with her friend probably listening as she got her weapons from her locker.

“–I know! We’ll have some sort of signal! Like a distress signal! A secret signal so we can find each other in the forest! Can you imitate a sloth?” the brunette girl asked.

“Maggie,” said her friend.

“Yes Bessie?” Maggie, who Katherine guessed was the brunette, piped at her name.

Bessie hooked her weapons –a pair of automatic pistols with sickle-like blades attached vertically under the barrels– to her sides.

“I don’t think sloths make a lot of noise,” Bessie simply said.

A beat passed. “That’s why it’s perfect! No one will suspect we’re working together,” Maggie encouraged.

“Come on, Mags” –Bessie shut her locker– “Let’s go.” The two walked towards the exit – Maggie doing more of a skip.

“I wonder what those two are worked up about,” Katherine wondered aloud.

“Oh, who knows.” Anna turned around from her locker to face Katherine. “So, you seem awfully chipper this morning.”

Katherine smiled. “Yep! No more awkward small talk or ‘getting to know you’ stuff. Today, I get to let my sweetheart do the talking.” Katherine soothed her weapon.

“Well, remember Kitty, you’re not the only one going through initiation. If you want to grow up, you’re gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together.”

“Ugh! Okay, first of all” –Katherine put her weapon away– “what does meeting people have to do with fighting? And secondly, I don’t need people to help me grow up. I drink milk,” she said stubbornly.

“But what about when we form teams?”

“Umm, I don’t know. I-I’ll just be on your team or something,” the Faunus mumbled.

“Maybe you should try being on someone else’s team?”

“My dearest friend, Anna, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me?” Katherine accused.

“W-what? No! Of course I do! I just thought . . . I don’t know, maybe it would help you break out of your shell!”

“What the– I don’t need to break out of my shell! That’s absolutely–“

“–Ridiculous!” Joan exclaimed, walking in between and past the two. “There’s no way I put my gear in locker 636 yesterday? I would’ve remembered having to count that high! Ugh, why does this have to happen today?” she whined, desperately scanning the lockers to find hers.

Anna clicked her tongue. “The day barely started, and she’s lost,” she whispered as they watched Joan sadly.

On Joan’s way, she passed two people: one was Catalina de Aragon, the other was a girl named Maria de Salinas.

Maria had curly brown hair that was tied into a ponytail. Her outfit was like an Olympian warrior.

The top was a brown overbust corset with a vertical strip of lighter brown in the center. She had elaborate bronze greaves that started below her mid-thigh before continuing downwards into her boots as well as a pair of cuisses that began mid-thigh and ended slightly above her knees. She was also equipped with a bronze bracer capable of connecting with her shield atop the sleeve on her left arm. Her high-heeled boots were brown with bronze trim, matching her skirt and sleeves and reaching up to mid-calf.

Additionally, an elastic, black, A-line mini skirt, brown opera-length gloves on both arms, and a red ankle-length sash that wrapped around her skirt. Around her hip was a belt with two pouches on the sides. Underneath her hair, was a brown circlet adorned with a pair of small, green, teardrop-shaped emeralds on thin chains. Around her neck was a large bronze gorget around; and a bronze bracelet on the upper half of her left arm.

The two have known each other since they were young. They met during one of Mr. Aragon’s business trips (which was rare) at Argus in the Kingdom of Mistral. Even though they’ve been in communication, it wasn’t until yesterday that they discovered they were attending the same academy.

Currently, Catalina and Maria has been using whatever time they could to catch up, and (like the others) started talking about the initation.

“So, Maria, you’ve given any thought on whose team you would like to be on?” Catalina asked. “I’m sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong well-known individual, such as yourself,” she finished with a teasing look and smile.

“Shut up,” Maria said shyly, but was a smile tugged on her lips.

“Well?”

“I’m not quite sure. I was planning on letting the chips fall where they may,” Maria answered.

Catalina nodded. “Well, I was thinking maybe we could be on a team together.”

“That sounds grand,” Maria agreed.

“Great!” Catalina said.

From afar, Katherine watched the exchange anxiously. Seeing this, Anna placed an arm over her shoulder as reassurance.

“Hey, don’t stress too much. I’ll be right here with you,” Anna said with a smile.

Katherine felt herself relax, but before she could say something, a voice spoke.

_“Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation?”_ said Professor Goodwitch over the intercom. _“Again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately.”_

Stepping out from the side hug, Katherine took in a deep breath, shut her locker, then faced Anna. “Well, let’s do this,” she said with a small grin, and the two walked out.

* * *

When they said “cliff,” they literally meant a cliff. Standing a few feet away from the edge, everyone was lined on squared platforms side-by-side. Before them were the headmaster and professor, and beyond them was a massive forest. Once everyone was settled, Professor Catherine spoke.

“For years, you have trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest.”

“Now,” started Professor Goodwitch. “I’m sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates . . . today.”

Katherine internally panicked.

“These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well,” Professor Catherine advised. “That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years.”

_What?!_

“See? I told you,” Maggie said to Bessie.

“After you’ve partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you **_will_ ** die,” said the headmaster. To Katherine’s right, Joan nervously laughed then gulped.

“You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene.” Professor Catherine glanced at Professor Goodwitch, who was holding a tablet that was safe to assume was the monitor. 

The headmaster addressed the students again. “You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top to the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?”

“Yeah, um,” Joan stuttered, raising a hand, but it went unnoticed (or ignored).

“Good! Now, take your positions.”

Immediately, the students’ stances changed as if they were going into battle. All except Joan, who was still trying to get the headmaster’s attention.

“Uh, Professor? I’ve got, um, a question.”

On the far left side of Katherine, the first platform flicked up and launched a student into the air and towards the forest.

“So this landing strategy thing” –another student catapults– “uh, w-what is it?” –two more go– “You’re like dropping us off or something?” Three more shoot up.

_Wait, does Joan not know what a landing strategy is?_ Katherine wondered.

“No. You will be falling,” Professor Catherine answered simply. The sounds of the catapult get closer.

“Oh, I see. So, like, did you hand out parachutes for us?”

_Poor Joan_ , Katherine pitied.

“Woohoo!” Maggie exclaimed as she was shot into the air.

“No. You will be using your own landing strategy.”

There were only four people left – Bessie, Anna, Katherine, and Joan.

“Uh . . . yeah,” Joan mumbled.

Bessie left.

Right before Anna’s turn, she winked at Katherine, put on her red shades _(where did those come_ _from?_ ), then screamed in delight when shot up. Katherine then turned to Joan with a smile then quickly followed.

“So, um, what exactly is a landing strategYYYY?!” Without time to prepare, Joan was the last person to be thrown into the air.

The headmaster turned around and sipped her coffee mug as she watched the students fly towards the forest in curiosity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay more characters!
> 
> Sorry for this being short, I’m currently working on the next chapter which I can guarantee has a lot of action!


	5. Players and Pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anna von Cleves is a human, NOT a Faunus anymore (just to make things easier for me)
> 
> Catherine would be referred to as Professor Catherine or just “Catherine” by her colleagues. Right now, the last name “Parr” doesn’t exist – yet
> 
> Sorry for a lot of repeats... fight scenes aren’t my strongest suit

“Birdie no!” Katherine cried when she accidentally knocked a bird out of the sky. Hopefully it lived.

Back to the fact that she was flying through the air, Katherine readied herself for landing. Coming in hot, Katherine fired her weapon in front of her to decrease her momentum then back flipped and extended Thornless Rose for the blade to hook onto a branch, allowing her to slowly flip to the ground. As soon as she landed, Katherine sprinted off in hopes to find Anna.

Further ahead, Catalina waited until she was closer to the land before using her revolver by switching the dust port to gravity, which allowed her to slow if shot in the opposite direction of the velocity (in this case, towards the ground and in front of her). Right before landing, she fired one shot, flipped, and skidded to a halt.

Not that far behind were Bessie and Maggie. Maggie flew past Bessie, who dove towards a tall tree, then curved down it with her weapons like a pole. She dusted herself off and glanced around until she heard a shot from above, followed by a scream.

“Woohoo!”

Soaring, Anna laughed as she fired her weapons to increase her momentum while bouncing off tree tops and doing flips. She probably should’ve landed, but she was too carried away by the thrill of flying to care. Feeling fancy, she decided to shoot with her turned. Because she wasn’t watching where she was going, she failed to see how close she was to the trees and got caught within the branches. Luckily, she managed to burst through, leaping from tree to tree, and landing on the ground with a roll.

“Nailed it,” she said, getting up into a run.

Lastly, Maria flew with her shield out in front as it broke the branches in her way. At the last second, she tucked and rolled onto a sturdy and long branch, then checked her surroundings with her weapon in rifle mode. As she peered through the scope, she saw Joan’s flailing body. Seeing that the girl was about to crash into a tree or die just from not having a landing strategy, Maria decided to help. She flipped her weapon back as it transformed into a spear, aimed it, then fired it in Joan’s direction. The sound of the spear hitting a tree echoed along with a voice.

“Thank you!” Joan shouted.

“I’m sorry!” Maria shouted back truthfully.

* * *

Within the darker part of the forest was Catalina walking. She still has yet to find her partner, but she didn’t mind being alone. She’s dealt with it before, she could do it again.

The sounds of twigs breaking and bushes rustling cause her to halt. Catalina narrowed her eyes ahead at the noise then silently gasped from the five pairs of red eyes among the bushes. A growl came from behind, and Catalina turned around, flexing her fingers at the ready.

Standing by a tree was a tall Beowolf – a large, dark, werewolf-like monster.

It suddenly clawed at her face, which barely gave her time to activate her shield (which could collapse on her left arm, acting like a thin gauntlet or sleeve) to block the attack. Though unharmed, she was skidded a few feet away and further into a circle of Ursas. She straightened her stance, unsheathed her weapon, then fired a couple of shots at the first Ursa.

Annoyed, the Beowolf covered its head with its paw while cowering away. Catalina changed the cartridge to fire dust then lunged with her blazing sword pointed forward.

Suddenly, a person decided to show up at the worst timing ever.

“Gotcha!” the person said as she struck the Grimm, not noticing Catalina.

Eyes widened, Catalina hastily lowered her weapon and forced herself to crumble onto the ground. As she did, Catalina lost control of her sword when her hand hit the ground too hard, and it accidentally hit a tree, catching it on fire.

Distracted, the girl turned towards where the shot was, but with those few seconds, the Ursa backhanded (pawed?) at her. Catalina was just getting up when a body slammed into her and to the grass.

Shaking off the daze, Catalina glanced down to see that it was the Faunus from yesterday.

“Hey, watch it!” the Faunus said.

“Excuse me? You attacked out of turn. I could’ve killed you,” Catalina retorted, grabbing her sword.

“You’ll have to try a lot harder than that,” the Faunus mumbled.

Out of instinct, the two stood back-to-back, eying the Grimm. Catalina with her shield up and her sword by her side, and with the Faunus holding her dagger diagonal. Taking the seconds without any attack, the Faunus unhooked her sheath from her belt around her waist, activated it into dagger mode, and gripped it in reverse.

But before anyone could attack, the flamed tree fell in front of the Faunus and began to spread.

Hatred replaced with concern, Catalina deactivated her shield and grabbed the Faunus’s arm.

“We have to go!” she ordered, then the two ran. Behind, the Grimm howled then separated as the fire enlarged.

Once they were some yards out and safe, they stopped to catch their breath. The Faunus glanced at the smoke then at Catalina.

“What was that? That should’ve been easy!” she exclaimed.

“Well perhaps, if you have exercised even the slightest amount of caution with the placement of your strikes, I wouldn’t set the forest on fire!”

The Faunus scoffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“I’m just surprised that someone who talks so much would communicate so little during an encounter!”

“Well, I’m sorry that you need my help to win a fight!”

Catalina rolled her eyes. “I never asked for it in the first place,” she argued.

The Faunus glared, her tail curling. “Aw too bad, but guess what? We’re partners now, so you’re gonna have to get used to having me around, whether you like it or not.”

Catalina scoffed then spun on her heel and marched off. She was right after all, Catalina was stuck with this annoying brat for the next four years of her life.

Though deeply annoyed, the Faunus tagged along anyway.

Within minutes of silence, it just occurred to the human that she never knew the Faunus’s name.

* * *

“Hello? Is anyone out there? Hello? I’m getting bored here!” Anna shouted.

Ten minutes have passed, and Anna still hasn't found anyone or anything yet. Nearby, a bush rustled, and she turned, ears perked.

“Is someone there?”

And being the smart person she was, Anna went over and checked.

“Katherine, is that you?” Anna’s eyes ventured from the ground upwards. “Nope,” she said, popping the ‘p.’

She immediately rolled to the side when an Ursa appeared from the bush.

An Ursa was a bear-like monster with black fur and bony spikes on their backs and arms, as well as white, bone-like masks with red detailing. Though there were Minor and Major Grimm, this one appeared to be a minor (which was the most common).

Anna activated Dirty Schlingel (bladed-gun gauntlets – currently in blast mode) and waited for the Grimm to make its move, but movement caught her eye to her right, and she quickly did a backhand spring as a second Grimm appeared.

Then, the first Grimm she met lunged, but she simply punched its chest and sent it flying backwards. As it did, the other Grimm came and did the same thing, which Anna easily countered with an upward cut and a kick, forcing it by its buddy.

“You guys wouldn’t happen to have seen a girl in a pink hood, would you?” she asked.

In response, the first Ursa stood on its hind legs and roared.

“You could just say no,” Anna said as the beast once again attacked.

The Ursa swung twice, which Anna swiftly avoided. She couldn’t help but laugh at how dumb they were.

“Jeez, you two couldn’t hit the bronze side of a . . .” Her voice trailed off when a black string of hair floated in her face and onto the ground.

_Her_ hair.

“You–“ she growled. “You monster!”

Anna pumped her arms, shifting the gauntlets into blade mode, then sprung on the first one. Without giving it any time, she threw punch after punch after punch; and as she did, her attacks grew faster and stronger from the adrenaline. Finally, Anna hit the Grimm with a hard slash combined with a bullet shot, sending him tumbling into trees until it was no longer in view – most likely dead.

As a tree fell, the other Grimm was on all fours and came towards her.

“What? You want some too?” she asked angrily.

_No one_ had the right to touch her hair. Let alone take a string.

She steady her stance as the Grimm towered over her, but to her surprise, it stopped. Suddenly, it dropped dead at her feet.

Behind it, was Katherine with her axe in its back. The Faunus got off, collapsed her weapon, then shot Anna a smirk.

Anna’s shoulders sagged in relief and a tiny bit of disappointment. “I could’ve taken him.”

Katherine rolled her eyes then gave a brief hug.

“So . . . guess we’re partners,” she said with a shy grin.

Anna chuckled. “Guess so.”

“You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

“I can imagine,” Anna grinned back.

Katherine scanned the area. “I don’t suppose you know where we are?”

“Not a clue.” Anna shook her head. “I was going that way” –she pointed straight– “for a bit. You?”

“I came from there.” Katherine pointed from the opposite direction.

“Well, since we came from there” –Katherine’s path– “wanna head forward?”

“Lead the way.”

* * *

Up on the cliff were the headmaster and her colleague. Professor Catherine was standing near the edge, staring at the tablet, as Professor Goodwitch approached her.

“Our last pair has been formed, miss. Maggie Lee and Bessie Blount,” she informed, clicking on the screen of the two.

Bessie had just finished defeating a King Taijitu –a giant snake (one of the largest Grimm). It sported many fangs in its jaws, with a long, black forked tongue to boot. It had two halves, a black one and a white one, that were joined in the center with a head at each end– and was concealing her weapons when Maggie appeared from a tree branch, hanging upside down.

“Poor girl” –Bessie Blount– “I can’t possibly imagine those two getting along,” Glynda scolded. “Still, she’s probably better off than Ms. de Salina.” Glynda swiped the screen to the video of Maria de Salinas and Joan Meutas.

Nothing exciting on their end. Maria found Joan dangling from her weapon on the tree and the pair had strolled the woods since. Recently, Joan got smacked in the face by a branch that Maria pushed away and got a little scratch from it. Seeing that Joan didn’t have her aura activated, Maria unlocked it for her, which healed the cut, then they continued their quest.

Catherine glimpsed at Glynda and only hummed in response.

“I don’t care what her transcript say. That Joan fellow is not ready for this level of combat.” Professor Goodwitch then turned off the screen. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough. At their current pace, they should reach the temple within just a few minutes.” She turned to leave, but halted. “Speaking of which, what did you use as relics this year?”

No reply or movement.

Fully facing her, Professor Goodwitch watched in confusion and slight concern.

“Professor Catherine?”

Glued to the tablet, Professor Catherine was invested on the screen with a certain Faunus and an Atlesian.

* * *

The pair was currently walking with a false sense of direction. With each step, the more frustrated they were, and it started to show. At some point, Catalina stopped and surveyed the area.

“Do you think we’ve passed it?” she asked.

“Why can't you just admit that you have no idea where we’re going?” the Faunus, who Catalina learned was named Anne, snapped.

“And you do?”

“No, but I bet I could do a better job than you are right now,” Anne challenged.

“I doubt that’s much.”

“Of course you think anyone else is below you, I-know-it-all.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you’re a big, stupid, jerk, and I hate you!”

“Ugh, just keep moving,” Catalina said, spinning around.

“Oh, forgot to mention how bossy you are too,” Anne sneered.

“I’m not bossy. Don’t say things like that,” Catalina remarked, halting to send her a glare.

“Well stop acting like you’re perfect.”

“I’m. Not. Perfect,” Catalina said between gritted teeth. “Not yet, but I’m leagues better than you,” she muttered, then turned and left.

“You don’t even know me,” Anne hissed, then trudged along.

* * *

Coming out from the trees, Katherine and Anna spotted a broken, circular stone structure a few feet below them.

“Think this is it?” Anna asked.

“Only one way to find out.”

Katherine strode towards it with Anna behind. When they reached it, there were several stone podiums with small black or gold items on top.

“Chess pieces?” Katherine wondered, looking at a black bishop.

“Some of them are missing. Looks like we weren’t the first ones here,” Anna noted at some empty podiums.

“Well, I guess we should pick one,” Katherine said, glancing around.

“Hey Kitty look, I’m the queen of the castle!” Anna said, holding up a gold rook.

Katherine giggled. “Guess we’ll choose that one.”

“That wasn’t too hard,” Anna said as they closed most of the space between them.

“It’s not like this place is very difficult to find.”

A high pitch scream was heard in the distance, startling them.

“Some girl’s in trouble!” Anna announced, facing where the noise was.. “Kitty, did you hear that? What should we do?” Then turned towards Katherine, who was staring up.

Anna waved a hand in her face. “Kitty?”

Katherine’s ears twitched, and she lowered her head to Anna then pointed at the sky with her finger. Anna then looked up and saw someone – no, Anne, falling towards them, but another person –it looked like Joan– came from the side and crashed into her, sending them sideways and into a tree.

“Did your cousin fall from the sky?” Anna asked.

“I–“

Another noise came ahead of them, and they turned to see an Ursa. But a shot was heard, followed by a “Yeehaw!” then the Grimm fell dead with a person rolling off of it.

“Aww, it’s broken,” the girl said sadly.

“Maggie,” another girl appeared from behind. “Please” –trying to catch her breath from chasing them– “don’t ever do that again.”

A whoosh, and Maggie was gone, startling Bessie.

“Ooh!” Maggie eyed a gold knight. How she suddenly got there, no one knew. She then picked up the piece and placed it on her head.

“Aw, it’s a cute little pony!” Maggie amused.

“Maggie!”

Maggie froze in a salute then leaned her head for the piece to fall into her hand.

“Coming Bessie!” she said with a giggle.

“Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?” Anna asked.

“I–“

A third noise came from their right, and out from the bushes was Maria de Salinas running from a giant Death Stalker – a giant scorpion.

It had jet-black exoskeleton underneath several large, white, bonelike plates upon its back, which are adorned with red markings. To fight, it used its glowing golden stinger on its tail and a pair of large pincers that could help defend itself and grab or cut into its prey.

Maria narrowly missed getting pinched by the Death Stalker by jumping between its pincers and rolling from its second attack from its other pincer.

“Joan!” she yelled.

Up on the tree were Anne (sitting on a branch) and Joan, who dangled upside down above her.

“Maria!” Joan yelled back, seeing her partner in trouble.

“Whoa!” Anne said, taking in all that happened, then leaped off.

She rolled across the grass then stood by Katherine and Anna.

“Anne?”

“Kat!”

The two were going in for a hug, but Maggie intercepted.

“Maggie!” she self-announced.

_What the heck?_

“Did she just run all the way here with a Death Stalker on her tail?” Anna asked (still).

Between everyone coming in and Anna’s commentary, Katherine grew overwhelmed.

“Gah! I can’t take it anymore! Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?” she shouted.

“Um, Kat?”

Anne patted Katherine on her shoulder and was staring up, no doubt another problem. The Faunus sighed.

A screech was voiced from overhead, causing everyone to look up at a Nevermore – a large avian that had a mask-like, white bony structure overlying the upper front of its head, four glowing red eyes, two on each side of its head, a dorsal spine or fin on the head, and two clawed "fingers" extending forwards from the outermost wing joint.

“ANNE!’ the Atlesian screamed, clinging onto the Nevermore’s claw.

Apparently, Anne’s idea was to get a “bird’s eye” view, literally. Somehow, they found a Nevermore and rode on it’s claws until they saw the Forest Temple.

_“Anne! I told you this was a terrible idea!” Catalina screamed over the wind._

_“We’re fine! Stop worrying!”_

_“I am so far beyond worrying!”_

_“ . . . In a good way?”_

_“In a bad way! In a very bad way!”_

_“Well why don’t we just jump?”_

_“What are you? Insane?”_

_Silence, and Catalina realized that Anne had let go._

_“Oh, you insufferable little–“_

Anne sighed. “I said jump.”

“She’s gonna fall,” Anna predicted.

“She’ll be fine,” Anne reassured.

“She’s falling,” Bessie noted.

To everyone’s relief, Catalina fired a shot downward, flipped, and landed in a crouching stance.

“Ah!”

Catalina had a split second to move when Joan ended up falling from the tree right above her.

“Ow . . .”

All the while, Maria was still running from the Death Stalker. A horrible screech, a punch, then Maria flew and crumbled on the ground in front of Anne, Katherine, Maggie, Bessie, and Anna.

“Great! The gang’s all here! Now we can die together!” Anna said optimistically.

“Not if I can help it,” Katherine said, then charged at the Death Stalker.

“Kitty wait!” Anna shouted to no avail.

“I got her!” Anne claimed.

The Faunus took out her dagger, pointed it at Katherine, then fired the top half of it. It launched as a grappling hook with the bottom part of the tip extending into three clips. It almost grabbed Katherine, but at the same time, Katherine boosted towards the Grimm, and the grapple fell flat.

“Damnit,” Anne muttered.

Immediately, Anna darted for Katherine.

Katherine flew in the air and landed a hit on its face, but sadly, it barely made a dent. She stumbled onto the ground then regained balance.

“Don’t worry. Totally fine!” Katherine shouted at the group.

A noise reminded her of her situation, and Katherine slowly faced it. She shot it in the face, repelling her backwards and started to run.

In the sky, the Nevermore approached. It halted in mid-air and flung its wings towards Katherine. Large, spiky feathers were released and hit the ground like a dart board. They lead up to Katherine, and one of them caught her on her hoodie, yanking her on her back.

The others led up to Anna, who slid to a stop to avoid getting impaled.

“Katherine!’ she screamed, desperation and fear in her tone.

Meanwhile, Katherine was furiously tugging on her sweatshirt. Never in her life had she let it go, and she refused to leave it now.

“Katherine get out of there!” Anna cried.

“I’m trying!”

The Death Stalker appeared and it lifted its tail. Katherine gaped at it. She was done for.

“Katherine!” Anne uselessly reached for her, but a beam of light zoomed by.

Katherine closed her eyes right as the Death Stalker struck, expecting pain. But no impact came. Instead was a sound of a laser-ish and a shrill from the Grimm. Katherine peeked an eye then opened both to see Catalina de Aragon blasting what appeared to be a beam of light at its face, almost burning it.

“Whoa,” was Katherine’s only reaction.

“Go!” Catalina told her.

Clearing her head, Katherine cut the feather with her axe then headed towards Anna. Anna swooped her into a hug then grasped her hand, and the two returned to the group. 

During that time, Anne stared at Aragon in bewilderment. Did Aragon just save her cousin? A Faunus to be exact? Anne didn’t have time to dwell on those thoughts when Katherine approached. Anne pulled her into an embrace.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said.

“What about Catalina?” Maria wondered.

Anne broke the hug and turned to see how her partner was. Wow, that sounded strange.

After seeing that Katherine and Anne were in the clear, Catalina ended her beam and ran back, going around the path of feathers with the Death Stalker on her tail.

“She’s not going to make it,” Bessie said.

Anne narrowed her eyes.

“Can’t she just flyby, or whatever that was, like she did earlier?” Maggie asked.

“I think that took up too much of her energy,” Maria noted.

She’s right, Aragon looked a little weary and wouldn’t get to them unharmed. An idea clicked, and Anne rushed forward to the end of the structure.

“Aragon! Grab on!” she instructed.

“What?”

To answer Aragon’s question, Anne ejected the grapple at her face (whether that was intentional or not). Understanding, Aragon moved to the side then grabbed the hook. Instantly, Anne reeled Aragon in, though she didn’t think about the next part. The two collided, and Anne was now lying on her back with Aragon on top.

“Are you guys okay?” Katherine asked.

“Yup, just fine, Kat,” Anne answered as they both slowly got up.

“Thank you,” Catalina muttered.

Stunned, Anne blinked.

“Did you just thank me?” Anne asked, though a small smirk tugged at her lips.

Catalina rolled her eyes. “I know I can be a bit . . . difficult” –Anne raised a brow– “but really?”

Anne shrugged. Thankfully, the moment was interrupted when a shriek was heard in the sky.

“Guys, that thing’s circling back,” Joan said. “What are we gonna do?”

“Look, there’s no sense in delaying. Our objective is right in front of us,” Catalina said, referring to the chess pieces.

“She’s right. Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs,” Anne said, making brief eye contact with a surprised Aragon.. “There’s no point in fighting these things.”

“Run and live. That is an idea I can get behind,” Joan said.

The Death Stalker became closer.

“It’s time we left,” Bessie advised.

“Right. Let’s go,” Katherine ordered.

Everyone followed, except Anne. Noticing this, Anna stopped beside her.

“What is it?”

Today has been full of surprises, but what impressed Anne the most was how grown her cousin has become since she last saw her.

“Nothing,” she said with a soft smile then took off.

Anna knew all too well of that expression because she too wore it as she watched her best friend mature; and she would gladly share that admiration with Anne. She had a good feeling about her.

* * *

They finally neared the cliff, which was across the broken pillar dome that was attached to a bridge, but they had to take cover behind the pillars as the Nevermore beat them and perched itself at the end of their path.

“Well that’s great,” Anna said sarcastically.

Trees broke as the Death Stalker appeared.

“Aw man, run!” Joan said, and they dashed forward.

When they did, the Nevermore came off its post.

“Maggie, distract him,” Bessie ordered.

The Nevermore flung its wings, releasing its feathers like darts at the girl, who easily dodged them with a jump and a tuck n roll. At the clear, she took out her weapon, Magnild (a large hammer with the secondary form of a grenade launcher) and fired several grenades.

After taking a few hits, the Nevermore flew away, giving more space. But while Maggie was focused on the Nevermore, she didn’t notice the Death Stalker from behind. Luckily, Anne and Bessie attacked it, and Catalina came and pulled her along.

As the rest reached the bridge, Maria glanced to see the other four trying to catch up.

“Go, go!” she told the others ahead of her, then spun around and kneeled with her rifle out.

Maria fired at the Death Stalker in hopes to slow it down, but it didn’t. Bessie stopped beside her and did the same until the Grimm came too close with its pincers, forcing them to keep running.

The group almost made it across until the Nevermore swooped in and destroyed the part of the bridge where they were, separating the group. On the end (closer to the cliff) were Katherine, Anna, Catalina, Maggie, and Joan. On the other half was Maria, Bessie, and Anne.

As the first three fired at the Nevermore, Joan looked at the last three, who were struggling to hold their own against the Death Stalker.

“We gotta get over there! They need help!” Joan said.

“Let’s do this!” Maggie said readily.

“Yeah, but uh” –Joan glanced down– “I can’t make that jump.”

Maggie smirked then pulled back her weapon, accidentally whacking Joan off her feet, spun it into a hammer, then leaped at their end of the bridge.

“Maggie wait!”

Maggie slammed her hammer, and the part shot like a seesaw, sending Joan over the edge.

“No, no, no, no!” Joan yelped.

Maggie stood on the hammer, pressed the trigger, and launched forward at the Death Stalker and smashed it square on its head. It countered with its tail, which Maggie avoided by shooting it again and herself back. When Maggie skidded, she accidentally knocked Anne off the bridge.

Falling, Anne watched the scene of the Nevermore flying through explosions then saw some ledges she could use. She aimed her dagger and ejected the grappling hook. Using the momentum, she swung under the bridge and high up to meet the Nevermore.

Anne was several feet off, but she used her semblance (Gremlin) to create a doppelganger of herself that helped boost her closer to the Nevermore. She attacked first with an uppercut to his mouth, a slash to its head, then ran on top of it, getting as many hits as possible before jumping off onto a platform near Katherine then went in between her and Anna.

“It’s tougher than it looks,” she informed them.

“Then let’s hit it with everything we got,” Anna said, activating her gauntlets.

The Nevermore circled around and headed straight for them. Katherine, Anne, Anna, and Catalina readied their weapons in gun mode then blasted at the Grimm. Unfortunately, they did little damage, and the Grimm rammed into the pillar dome they stood on.

As the structure crumbled, the girls raced to get back on the bridge, parkouring through the broken bricks.

Once they landed –Anne and Anna on columns across each other, and Katherine and Catalina on the bridge– Katherine watched as the other pair fought off the Grimm.

“None of this is working,” Catalina said.

Katherine scanned the area and noticed the placement of everyone.

“I have an idea! Cover me!” She took off towards the opposite of the cliff, and Catalina went after the Nevermore.

On the other side, Maria, Joan, Bessie, and Maggie were still fending off the Death Stalker, but their part of the bridge began to wobble.

“We gotta move!” Bessie commanded, and they rushed towards the Grimm.

The Grimm thrusted a pincer, but Maria blocked it with her shield then threw her sword against it. The other pincer came forth, but Joan was there with her shield. Maria then lunged and hit it away, creating an opening to its face as Bessie ran to it, firing. The Grimm stabbed its tail at her, but Bessie dodged and latched onto it when it lifted in the air. With one hand holding on, Bessie continued to fire (this time at its tail) with her other hand.

Furthest from the fight, Maggie approached with her weapon in gaurande mode and fired. The Death Stalker blocked them by swinging its pincers in its face, which smacked Joan and Maria back.

Seeing a small opportunity, Maria switched her weapon into spear mode and threw it into one of the Grimm’s eye. In response, it flinched and flung Bessie into the air, who then painfully connected with a column and landed on the ground, temporarily unconscious.

“Bessie!” Maggie cried.

Joan looked worryingly at Bessie then at the tail and noticed it was dangling, but most importantly, above its head.

“Maria!” she yelled, hoping her partner saw what she saw.

“Done!”

Maria threw her shield like a frisbee perfectly, slicing the stinger off and onto its head. The shield rebounded from a pillar and back to Maria’s hand.

“Maggie, nail it!” Joan ordered.

“Heads up!” the girl warned, and leaped.

As if they’ve done this a thousand times, Maria lowered herself with her shield raised as Maggie got on it, then combined with Maggie’s gun and Maria’s thrust, Maggie was launched into the sky.

Filled with adrenaline, Maggie couldn’t contain a laugh as she plummeted towards the Death Stalker. She tucked in and flipped until she neared the Grimm then smashed it hard on its head.

As a result, the pressure from the hit broke the bridge and flung Joan and Maria to the grass area. While the Death Stalker tipped off the edge, Maggie fired one last shot, ending the Grimm and shooting her to her group.

Though exhausted, they stood up and watched as their friends handled the Nevermore.

Currently, Anna was its target as she kept attacking. It soon came, and doing the most ration thing, she jumped into its mouth. Surprisingly, she wasn’t eaten, and instead was standing straight up – her hand holding up the top part with her feet holding down the bottom of the mouth.

“I. Hope. You’re. Hungry!” she said, shooting after each word.

Anna glanced back to see they neared the cliff. She then back flipped off and onto the bridge. Behind, the Grimm crashed into the cliff and slid down.

It screeched in what she could assume agony and annoyance. Anna looked ahead and saw a flicker of light from Catalina. Taking that as her cue, Anna got out of the way, and Catalina blasted a beam of light at the Nevermore’s face, holding it there.

On a column, Anne created a doppelgänger, who then went over to the other column across from her. The two shot their grappling hooks that connected into a long slingshot, which left Katherine as the bullet.

Katherine reloaded her weapon, lined her shot, then fired at the Nevermore. Her axe caught on the Grimm’s neck as she landed on the cliff wall. She then sprinted up the cliff with her bullet’s momentum until she reached the very top. There, she swung upwards, and with as much force she could muster, sliced the Nevermore’s head off, then landed on the edge.

From below, everyone watched as the Nevermore slowly descended into the fog.

“Wow,” Joan commented.

“Well . . . that was a thing,” Anna said.

* * *

Claps echoed within the Great Hall as people were being placed into teams. As Team CRDL walked off the platform, Joan, Maria, Bessie, and Maggie came on.

“Bessie Blount, Maria de Salinas, Maggie Lee, and Joan Meutas. The four of you retrieved the gold knight pieces. From this day forward, you’ll work together as Team JMMB. Led by . . . Joan Meutas,” Professor Catherine announced.

Joan, who believed the leader was going to be Maria, turned to the headmaster in shock.

“Led by . . .?” She gestured to herself.

“Congratulations, young girl.”

Maria gave her a punch to the arm in congratulations, but Joan wasn’t ready and ended up on the ground. Maria smiled apologetically.

“And finally,” Professor Catherine continued once Team JMMB left. “Anne Boleyn, Catalina de Aragon, Katherine Howard, and Anna von Cleves. The four of you retrieved the gold rook pieces. From this day forward you will work together as . . . Team KAAC. Led by . . . Katherine Howard.”

The room was filled with applause as Katherine smiled, astounded. She was soon wrapped in a tight hug from Anna.

“I’m so proud of you!”

Katherine glanced at the others to see Anne beaming at her and Catalina giving her a nod.

“Looks like things are shaping up to be a . . . interesting year,” Professor Catherine concluded.

* * *

Meanwhile, at an abandoned warehouse was the criminal on a call, standing in front of a table with a map on the wall. Frustrated, he hung up and slammed his scroll on the desk. He then put a cigar to his mouth and lit the lighter, but stopped when a goon entered with a cart.

As a deal, he paid him his credits, which he took after seeing they were real.

“Open it,” Roman ordered.

With a tool, the goon opened the case and revealed several types of dust crystals. Roman picked one up and examined it.

“We’re gonna need more men.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m still working on the semblances but here’s the characters and their weapon(s) names:
> 
> Katherine - Thornless Rose  
> Anna - Dirty Schlingel (German - rascal)  
> Catalina - Humilde y Leal (Spanish - humble and loyal)  
> Anne - Greensleeves
> 
> Joan - Crocea Mors  
> Maria - Miló and Akoúo̱  
> Bessie - StormFlower  
> Maggie - Magnhild
> 
> Teams:  
> KAAC pronounced like “cat” but replace the “t” with a “k” sound  
> JMMB pronounced like Jim plus a “b” sound at the end


	6. Classes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remnant schools are like Japanese schools –  
> The year begins in mid-spring (April), the first semester ends and the second begins at the end of summer (ending in August and starting in September) and ends in midwinter (January)
> 
> These classes happen over the span of weeks to months

Sleeping in would have been ideal if Kat didn’t wake everyone up with a whistle.

“Gooooood morning Team KAAC!”

“What in the world?” Anne exclaimed, hating to get rudely awakened.

“Now that you’re awake, we can officially begin our first order of business,” Kat stated.

“What?”

“Decorating!” Anna chimed in, holding a bunch of her belongings.

“We still have to unpack,” Catalina said, lifting her suitcase, which fell open. “And . . . clean.”

“Alright, let’s get started!”

After about 10 minutes, the team surveyed their work. Somehow, their beds ended up crammed together while most of their stuff (posters, pictures, books, and desks) took up the space.

“This . . . isn’t going to work,” Catalina said.

“It is a bit crammed,” Anne nodded.

“Maybe we should ditch some of our stuff?” Anna suggested.

“Or we could ditch the beds . . .” Kat gasped. “And replace them with bunk beds!”

“That sounds incredibly dangerous.”

“And supper awesome!”

“It does seem efficient.”

Knowing it was ¼, Catalina gave in, and the group remodeled their beds. On the left side was Kat and Anna – Kat’s bed hung from rope attached to the ceiling while Anna’s was untouched on the floor. On the right side was Catalina and Anne – Catalina’s bed on the floor with Anne’s on top using piles of books on the bedposts. The appearance didn’t really matter as long as the beds were secured.

“Objective complete,” Kat cheered. “Alright, our second order of business is . . . classes.” She whipped out their book schedule. “Now, we have a few classes together today. At nine, we gotta be–“

“What? Did you say nine o’clock?” Catalina asked.

“Umm.”

“It’s 8:55!”

Catalina then rushed out the door with her teammates glanced from the doorway.

“Uh, t-to class!” Kat stammered, then the rest of KAAC quickly followed.

“Class?” Joan asked, as she and her team watched KAAC leave. “Ah! We’re gonna be late!”

As both teams sprinted past the fountain in the courtyard, Professor Catherine and Professor Goodwitch were walking towards the center but stopped as they ran by without noticing them. Professor Catherine just sipped on her mug while Professor Goodwitch checked her watch blandly.

In both teams defense, today was their first day, and they reassured their teachers this wouldn’t be a reoccurrence.

**[Grimm Studies]**

“Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night. Yes the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey. Ha ha!” Professor Port exclaimed.

Port was a heavyset, old man, with light, short, gray hair that parted in the middle, and both bushy eyebrows and mustache. He dressed like a Cavalry soldier with a double-breasted burgundy suit with gold piping and buttons and had pants tucked into olive boots. Even though it was the first day, this man was clearly full of himself.

Apparently, what he said was supposed to be a punchline, but the class only gave blank stares. This class was one of the few that KAAC had together.

For most classrooms, the seats were divided in two sections containing four rows with one booth higher than the previous. KAAC were sitting on the bottom left row. Kat almost fell asleep until Professor Port raised his voice, Anna was listening though bored, Catalina was taking notes, and Anne full out didn’t care and let her mind wander.

“Uh, and you shall too from graduating from this prestigious academy!” Port continued and began to pace. “Now as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in our otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teething with creatures that will love nothing more than to tear you into pieces. And that’s where we come in. Huntsmen! Huntresses!”

He clicked and winked at Anna, who awkwardly laughed and rolled her eyes.

“Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves. From what you ask? Why, the very world!”

“Aye, yeah!” shout some kid in the back, who quickly sat down after everyone stared at him.

“That is what you’re training to become, but first, a story of a tale of a young, handsome man . . . me. When I was a boy . . .”

Let’s just say that all of his classes were mostly about his adventures.

**[Combat Training]**

On the stage were two fighters, Joan and a guy named Cardin Winchester from Team CRDL. Joan was catching her breath while Cardin smirked.

With a yell, Joan lifted her sword and rushed at him. Cardin easily sidestepped then whacked her aside with his malice. Getting back up, Joan rushed again and swung her sword vertically on Cardin, who blocked it. Unfortunately, Cardin was stronger than her and forced Joan lower to the ground.

“This is the part, where you lose,” he snarked.

“Over my dead–“

Cardin kneed her in the chest, making her fall to the floor. Right as Cardin raised his weapon, the once dark room lit and an alarm went off.

“That’s enough,” Professor Goodwitch said, walking onto the stage.

Unlike the normal classes, this one was held in the Great Hall (the place where the ceremony was). The fighters would fight on the stage while the rest would stand and watch.

“Students, as you can see” –Professor Goodwitch looked at her scroll– “Ms. Meutas’s aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament style dual, this would indicate that Joan was no longer fit for battle and the official may call the match.”

She lowered her scroll then addressed Joan.

“Ms. Meutas, it’s been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Engaging your aura will help you decide when it is appropriate to attack or when it is better to move to a more . . . defensive strategy,” she scolded. “We wouldn’t you to be gobbled up by a Beowulf now, would we?”

Joan averted her gaze to look at her scroll in disappointment and embarrassment.

“Speak for yourself,” Cardin mumbled then walked off.

“Remember class, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won’t be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament would be representing all of Vale,” she said,

The bell rang and everyone left, though Maria lingered as she sadly looked at Joan from the floor.

**[History]**

“Yes! Yes! Prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution War, more popularly known as the Faunus War. Human kind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing the Faunus population in Menagerie,” Professor Oobleck said, then took a sip from his coffee mug.

He was a tall, fit man with messy green hair and round, opaque glasses. Though his attire was something else: his white, collared shirt was partly tucked in, his yellow tie was loosely worn, and his shoes were mismatched of brown and black. For him, his appearance didn’t matter, what he talked about did – well if anyone could keep up due to his mouth going as fast as his brain (which was extremely fast).

“Now, while this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember these are relatively recent events. Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!” –takes another sip– “Now, have any among you been subjected or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?” he asked the class.

For a moment, no one moved or spoke. Very few people from the teams were in this class. In the first row (closer to the professor) sat Joan (on the right) and a rabbit Faunus named Velvet (on the left). Behind Velvet were Anne and Maria and some stranger; and behind Joan was the jerk Cardin. The only other teammate (or friend) was Catalina, who sat behind Anne.

After some hesitation, Velvet rose her hand. Professor Oobleck inclined his head.

“Dreadful, simply dreadful. Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that brings violence. I mean, just look at what happened to the White Fang. Now which one you young scholars can tell me what many theorists believed to be the turning point of the third year of the war?”

Catalina raised her hand.

“Yes?”

“The Battle at Fort Castle,” Catalina answered.

“Precisely! And who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagoon’s forces?”

At that moment, Cardin flicked a piece of paper at the back of Joan’s head, startling her.

“Hey!”

“Ms. Meutas! Finally contributing to class! Excellent, excellent! What is the answer?” Professor Oobleck asked, standing in front of her.

“Uh, the advantage the Faunus had over that guy’s stuff was . . .” Joan glanced past the professor’s shoulder to see Maria pointing at her eyes then making circles. “Binoculars!”

The room erupted into laughter. Professor Oobleck took another sip as Maria slapped a hand on her forehead. The professor zoomed to stand behind his desk.

“Very funny, Ms. Meutas. Cardin, perhaps you would like to share your thoughts on the subject?” Professor Oobleck asked.

Cardin, who was reclined in his chair, simply said in a scoffing tone.

“Well, I know it’s a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier.”

“You’re not the most open minded of individuals, are you Cardin?” Maria spoke up.

“What? You got a problem?”

“No, I have the answer. It’s night vision. Many Faunus are known to have nearly perfect sight in the dark,” Maria answered correctly. Cardin groaned in annoyance.

“General Lagoon was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched and the general was captured,” Anne chimed in then looked at Cardin. “Perhaps if you paid attention in class, he wouldn’t have been remembered as such a failure.”

Cardin abruptly stood up, ready to fight, but Professor Oobleck stopped him.

“Mr. Winchester, please take your seat,” he said, with a done tone. “I would like to see you after class.”

Cardin scowled.

“Now, moving on!”

* * *

For the most part, classes haven’t been bad. A few assignments here and there, which everyone hated but managed to complete well. Team KAAC soon familiarized themselves with each other’s study methods.

Kat would pay attention, but sometimes get distracted and would doodle on her paper. Kat’s favorite classes were Combat Training and history, although Grimm Studies was nice to have in the morning because she could just sleep. Though if it came down to it, she would stay up late to work diligently.

Anna wasn’t much for studying yet made decent grades. She didn’t bother with history because of how fast Professor Oobleck speaks, and she sometimes nods off in Grimm Studies from all the storytelling. The one class she always looked forward to and did best in was Combat Training. So far, she’s won every match, and she prided herself in it.

Anne tended to read books during class. At first, Catalina scolded her for it, but after seeing how intelligent the Faunus was, she decided to let her read. Though Anne liked CT, her best subject was history. Using her personal experience, she knew more than most of her peers, yet they never knew how (KAAC would find out later). She wouldn’t admit it, but Anne liked Professor Oobleck. She easily radiated off his energy, and sometimes the subject was actually interesting.

Catalina, on the other hand, was the most diligent out of her teammates. She and Anne would tie for the highest grade, though she had a feeling Anne was holding back and didn’t know why. Because of how often she took notes, she was deemed the “note taker.” Though at first, she felt it unfair to be doing all the work, but after some clarification that they would compare notes, she didn’t mind the nickname. Catalina always paid attention to the lectures even if they sucked. If asked, she would probably say history was her favorite class.

Every day was about the same – wake up, breakfast, classes, lunch, classes, break, homework, sleep, and repeat. During meals, KAAC would always sit with JMMB, and let’s just say that meals were never dull around them.

Before they knew it, first semester at Beacon Academy was almost over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this felt rushed. But I might make a side series of moments they did at Beacon. Let me know if that’s something you want


	7. Update

Hey!! Sorry this isn’t another chapter but I’m not liking how I’m writing this story, also I feel bad for changing about everything whenever i post a new chapter, that’s not kind.

1\. Originally, I had a complete different vision of it when I first wrote it, but then I tried to make it like the series, but I’m still not satisfied with half of it.

2\. The characters are the most conflicting part of this bc I still haven’t figured out all of their semblances. And if I had stuck to my original, then they would mostly keep their personalities that we are all familiar with. But in this version, I tried to based them off on characters which would ultimately change their personalities a bit, so I tried to keep it the same but different too.

i’m honestly not sure where everyone stands on the characters keeping their personalities (or most of it) or switching it up, which messed with my head often (still does).

3\. RWBY hasn’t ended yet. I could make up my own ending but I’m not a full expert of RWBY so idk how everything works bc one minute i think i know then the next they hit with something completely unexpected

4\. I wasn’t sure what to do when they got into the school bc if you watch season 1, a majority of it was focused on the side characters, and the main were not how I wanted Six to act. The plot didn’t really start until season 2 and mostly 3, but i didn’t want to skip straight into that without much team bonding

Truthfully, I still want a Six/RWBY crossover, but I think I should wait and give this more thought before diving straight in. Also, now that I have tumblr, I’ll probably just post things about it on there. The idea can continue, but not the story until i get it together. I’m sorry for any who actually read and like this. I appreciated it, really. But face it, this story needs help. Until then, thanks for reading. Hope y’all have a good day!

If you want to talk or anything, you can find me on both insta and tumblr!

Insta: <https://www.instagram.com/san_shui__/>

Tumblr: <https://san-shui.tumblr.com/>

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for any mistakes. Comment and kudos! <3


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